International Council for Science (ICSU)—On the Future Challenges for the Integration of Science into International Policy Development for Landslide Disaster Risk Reduction

Abstract

Open image in new window In 2015 four UN landmark agreements were developed: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (hereafter referred to as the Sendai Framework); the agenda related to Financing for Development; the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These can be regarded as the main guiding documents to galvanise action to address the new or emerging global challenges. The Science and Technology community are asked to support the implementation of the Sendai Framework, in order to ‘prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk’ by ‘enhancing the scientific and technical work on disaster risk reduction and its mobilization through the coordination of existing networks and scientific research institutions at all levels and all regions with the support of the UNISDR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (STAG)’ (UNISDR in Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, 2015a, Paragraph 25g). Within the Sendai Framework agenda, the commitment of STAG and the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk Program (IRDR) is focusing the integration and collaboration between science, policy and practice. IRDR is a multi-disciplinary, all-hazards approach, supported by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), to strengthen capacity at global, regional and local levels to address hazards and generate science-based decisions on actions to reduce their impact (IRDR in Integrated research on disaster risk strategic plan 2013–2017, 2013). Along the line of critical actions identified by STAG and IRDR, particular efforts are being undertaken by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) to understand the configuration of landslide disaster risk and reduce its impacts. ICSU, via IRDR, as one of the voluntary signatories of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction–International Consortium on Landslides (ISDR-ICL) Sendai Partnerships 2015–2025 for Global Promotion of understanding and reducing landslide disaster risk, is committed to enhance such endeavours. In this paper, attention is drawn to identifying some of the main future challenges for the integration of science into local, national, regional and international policy development for Landslide Disaster Risk Reduction within the Sendai Framework.